Weekly airgun reports from airgunners to airgunners!

Posts Tagged ‘SuperTEN’

Before we get to today’s blog, a couple of quick notes. First, Airguns of Arizona now has JSB Monsters in stock. These .22 cal. pellets weigh 25.4 grains and come in 200-count tins. Second, AoA has a new deal on JSB pellets. Order just 4 tins at the same time and get $1 off on each tin.

The BSA SuperTEN is an interesting and accurate air rifle. Available in .177 and .22, the SuperTEN is available in three levels of “trim.” The base model has no silencer, the next level up has a full factory non-removable silencer, and the top model has a full bull barrel. All models have a ten-shot rotary magazine, fully adjustable match trigger, and a specially crowned match barrel.

The SuperTEN is a so-called “bottle” airgun. That’s because the air reservoir, mounted at the end of the forestock, is in fact a steel bottle for holding the compressed air. To charge the bottle, it must be unscrewed from the air rifle, attached to a SCUBA tank or pump, and charged up to 230 bar (3336 PSI).

One of the things that makes the SuperTEN attractive is that it is a regulated airgun. That means there is a mechanism in the action that, like the diver’s regulator on a SCUBA tank, controls how much air the SuperTEN can sip for each shot. As a result, the SuperTEN is extremely consistent in its velocity from shot to shot until the air pressure in the air reservoir drops so low that it must be refilled.

The SuperTEN is available at two different power levels. The British version keeps the power just below 12 foot pounds (fp) in both .177 and .22 and delivers a large number of shots per fill. The export version produces 22 fp in .177 and 30 fp in .22 and delivers 40 shots per fill. The regulator controls the power, and there are two different regulators: one for Britain and one for export. One of the neat features of the SuperTEN is that, if you own both regulators, called the “cigar” regulator, you can swap between them in just a few minutes. This gives you the flexibility to choose between lower power and lots of shots and higher power and fewer shots.

Starting at the back of the SuperTEN, you find a black rubber buttplate that is adjustable vertically. Just loosen a screw in the middle, slide the buttplate up or down as needed, and retighten the screw. Ahead of that, a thick black plastic spacer attaches to the stock which has a pronounced cheekpiece on the left side. Moving forward, the pistol grip is checkered and has a dark hardwood cap. The top of the pistol grip, just under the receiver, there is a concave spot for resting your thumb while shooting.

Forward of the pistol grip is the black metal trigger guard, inside of which is a very crisp and highly adjustable two-stage trigger. Moving ahead again, you’ll find the forestock, which has checkered grip panels on either side. At the end of the forestock is the air reservoir, which must be unscrewed from the SuperTEN for charging.

Above the air reservoir is the barrel, which is attached to a black metal receiver. On the left side of the receiver is a slot into which the 10-shot rotary magazine is inserted. The magazine also protrudes slightly out of the right side of the receiver. There you’ll also find a slide-action safety (forward to fire, back to safe the action) and the bolt, which rides in a track with two slots. On top of the receiver is a full-length 10.8mm dovetailed scope rail.

When I shot the .22 cal. base model SuperTEN, I found that it averaged 940 fps with JSB .22 jumbo express pellets and produced a .81 ctc group at 50 yards. Further, the trigger was a pleasure. When you shoot the SuperTEN, be aware of one trick: you have to make sure that you pull the bolt all the way back and down into the rear slot before cycling the bolt forward again. If you don’t, the SuperTEN will not cock and will not shoot. When you work the bolt again, you run the risk of loading two pellets into the barrel.

The SuperTEN enjoys a reputation as one of the most accurate airguns available, but it is being phased out, to be replaced by the BSA R10 which has the features – a quick fill fitting and a pressure gauge – that airgunners are requesting today.